They sure didn’t, Stephen thinks, but there’s no time to bemoan the lack of warning about sea monsters when they’re being tossed to and fro like a toy boat in a bathtub. His companions soon make themselves known, both Ronan and Kylo utilizing their unusual abilities to ensure the cargo doesn’t go flying off the ship. The wide trunk of a tree growing into a makeshift wall, branches entangling. An invisible force keeping the boxes fixed in place.

Stephen stumbles to his feet. His hands form quick, practiced casting gestures, energy glowing at his palms, and then he lashes out with an arm. Red bands of magic unfurl and whip forward, then loop around the tree trunk and boxes, another added layer of security.

“I don’t know if we can destroy it,” he yells over the ruckus. Seawater, flung upwards from the leviathan’s lashing tail, splatters down upon them all like rain. He sputters. “Did we piss it off, or—“

Was this just terrible timing? No time to finish his sentence. The ship keels hard, collided into the creature again.